Batala police trace extortion call made from UK, arrest shooter

The Batala police, in an elaborate exercise, joined the dots between UK, Delhi and Punjab to bust a racket which was involved in extorting money from a Batala sarpanch.

Rajinder Singh, sarpanch of Maman village, had complained to the cops that he had been receiving regular extortion calls from an unknown number.

SSP Suhail Qasim Mir had set up a team of senior officers to probe the sarpanch’s assertions. On the night of June 12, a motorcycle-borne person had opened fire on the main gate of Rajinder Singh’s residence in the village. The incident left fellow villagers frightened following which the police had stepped up vigil in the area.

The police deepened its probe and stumbled upon a well-oiled racket operating from the UK. SSP Suhail said Dheeraj Khatri, originally a resident of Haryana and residing in the UK, was the person who regularly made extortion calls to the sarpanch. He was acting at the behest of Satbir Singh Sukhu, a native of Maman village and who at present was residing in the UK. He had given 250 Euros to Khatri. Satbir Sukhu, in turn, was in touch with Gurpinder Singh, who is also a native of Maman village. Gurpinder, in turn, had a rivalry with the sarpanch.

These persons had hired a shooter, Daler Singh, who carried out the attack on the night of June 12 night.

The SSP said the police had arrested Daler Singh and had recovered the weapon and the motorcycle from him. An officer said when they went to arrest him, he tried to flee, following which the cops opened fire and injured him in his legs.

Upon sustained interrogations, he revealed all the accused and their respective roles.

One Charanjeet Singh of Dale Chak village, who had provided shelter to Daler Singh after the shooting, was also taken into custody.

The cops are pursuing legal channels to bring back Dheerak Khatri and Satbir Singh Sukhu from the UK.